Flirting
by goth on ham
Summary: A short fic in which a handsome journalist flirts with Oswald and Ed feels jealous.
1. Chapter 1

Oswald was in a wonderful mood after the interview. He was practically humming during the car ride home, looking out of the window and commenting on how nice the weather was.

"Mark seemed like a pleasant man. Very perceptive, friendly. A rarity for reporters in Gotham. I'm sure he'll go far."

Ed sat beside Oswald in the back of the limo, in a far less jovial mood. Mark had been the name of the journalist that had interviewed the Mayor for a profile piece in the Gotham Gazette. It was unlikely that he had any ulterior motive, but the way that he had so easily gotten on Oswald's good side irritated Ed.

Mark was tall and handsome. He looked like he probably went out for a jog every morning and then went to the gym in the evening after work. He didn't appear to be more than twenty-five, but he had a well read, eloquent way of speaking that made him seem older than his boyish good looks otherwise suggested.

He'd flirted with Oswald shamelessly.

 _"Honestly, Ed! He was just being polite."_

He'd put his hand on Oswald's knee for god's sake! That was more than simply being 'polite'.

Oswald had blushed as he denied that there was anything flirtatious about Mark's behaviour. Ed knew why. Oswald couldn't believe that someone like Mark, good looking and with no hidden agenda, would genuinely be interested in him. A childhood and adolescence full of bullying had made such a possibility absurd to him. But Ed knew better. Oswald was successful and powerful, and while his appearance could easily be the subject of mockery, Ed could see why some people were attracted to the small, birdlike man who wore fine suits and too much hair gel. After all, he found Oswald attractive.

If Mark had just been a random good looking airhead then it would be different, but he had been genuinely charming and articulate and the Chief of Staff could detect no malice or sarcasm behind his playful flirtations.

"I didn't like him." Ed replied finally, glaring out of his own window. Despite Oswald's insistence that it was a nice day, the weather seemed much the same as it had been the day before. Overcast with a chance of rain.

Ed's response made Oswald roll his eyes and he sighed, a touch theatrically. "Honestly, Ed. If this is just because you claim he was 'flirting' with me-"

"He was. You'd have to be an idiot not to notice it." His words came out more harshly than he had intended, and a flash of regret passed briefly over his face when he saw the hurt expression that his words had earned.

"Don't call me an idiot." Oswald muttered, folding his arms across his chest and turning his head away from Ed.

Ed's jaw tightened. He knew that he should apologise and explain that he wasn't angry at him, that really he was angry that that nobody of a journalist had had the gall to try to flirt with the Mayor, the Kingpin of Gotham's underworld, and most importantly, his lover. But he didn't apologise or explain, instead they just sat in a heavy cast silence for the rest of the journey back to the mansion.


	2. Chapter 2

That night when they were in bed, Ed could tell that Oswald was still upset with him. Usually, the smaller man would lie close to him, curled up against him with his head on his chest, eager to be held. Instead, he lay on his side with his back to him. When Ed tried to reach out to spoon him, he was rewarded with a slap to the back of his hand and a mutter of "Not tonight."

Ed sighed and lay on his back. Then, after a few moments of consideration, he sat up and prodded Oswald to gain his attention.

"What is it, Ed? I'm trying to sleep." He asked, looking over his shoulder. He sounded irritated, and a bit drowsy.

"I didn't mean to insult you. I only spoke the way I did because that journalist annoyed me."

Oswald ran a hand over his tired face and then groaned slightly. "Ed… I just want to go to sleep."

"I was jealous," Ed went on to explain, ignoring Oswald's insistence that he was tired and didn't want to talk about their earlier argument. "You claimed he wasn't flirting with you, perhaps to spare my feelings, but I saw it. I can't stand the thought of you being with someone else."

The Mayor looked over Ed's face, seeing the serious expression on his features and sighed. He supposed that Ed wouldn't let him sleep until they had cleared this up.

"He wasn't flirting with me. Besides, even if he was you needn't be jealous. You should know that you're the only one I am interested in. The only one I would ever consider being intimate with. I take my mother's words very seriously, Ed. She told me I would have one true love, and that is you." Oswald gradually began to feel himself heat up at speaking so frankly about how deeply he felt for Ed, especially when the other man's deep brown eyes seemed to bore right into him. "Do you really think that I would betray you?"

"Of course not, but that's not the point."

"You just cannot stand the thought of another man finding me attractive?" Oswald laughed a little, although it was a bitter laugh. He shook his head. "Then, my jealous friend, you are lucky to have me because I assure you. That is not something you need to worry about."

Ed studied the way that Oswald's face betrayed a deep inner hurt. He truly believed that no one else would ever find him attractive? Even in the face of a man earlier that afternoon touching his leg and flirting with him so openly?

The taller man reached out, his hand brushing Oswald's cheek. This time Oswald didn't slap his hand away, although he breathed out somewhat shakily, his eyes facing downwards. An uneasy smile came onto his lips and he moved a hand up to touch Ed's.

"I'm so lucky to have found even one person who loves me. I would never jeopardise that. So please, don't get jealous. It… It makes me feel strange. Nervous. I don't like it." Oswald was a guarded person. When he spoke his true feelings he would often stammer and stutter and look away. Even with Ed, someone he trusted and loved, he found it difficult to be candid about the more vulnerable parts of himself.

"I'm sorry." Ed didn't apologise often. A consequence to always thinking that he was right. However, he saw now that he'd hurt Oswald more deeply than just calling him an idiot, and he regretted that. With his hand still resting tenderly on his cheek, he leaned in and kissed him. Then he wrapped his arms around him, enveloping his smaller body close to his. "You're beautiful, and smart, and you've achieved so much. I admire you more than you can imagine, and I never want to lose you. But I will try not to be jealous."

He couldn't promise that he wouldn't.

He was sure that there would be others who would provoke that feeling in him. People who saw in Oswald what he saw. A man of power and ambition. A man who was far more loveable than he believed himself to be. However, in the future, Ed would just try his best not to let his jealousy show. He would simply love Oswald, and trust that no other man stood a chance with him while they were together.

"Thank you." Came Oswald's quiet response, his head resting on Ed's chest and his body curled up close to him. Things were right between them again. The argument forgotten. "I love you."


End file.
